Employment

Income Inequality — Why Workers Aren’t Getting Ahead

May 27, 2015 by Guest Contributor

By Windriven

Recovery from the Great Recession has been slow and uneven. Six years in and U3 unemployment is finally down to 5.4%, U6 has dipped below 11%. Why are there so few voices claiming victory and why do their claims ring a bit hollow?

This chart from the Federal Reserve provides a clue. It plots labor’s share – salary and wages – of Gross Domestic Product.

In the postwar years, the American economy was doing well. As the chart above shows, American workers’ share of GDP taken as wages and salaries was about 50% in those years. That began to change in the early 70s and today the share of GDP taken as wages and salaries is less than 43%. Productivity continued to rise. GDP continued to grow. But workers were getting a progressively smaller piece of [Read more…] about Income Inequality — Why Workers Aren’t Getting Ahead

Should The U.S. Worry About Oil Sector Jobs?

April 30, 2015 by Guest Contributor

Outside of individual’s holding oil stocks, damage to the economy from the fall in oil has been pretty minimal so far. Indeed, the price cut in home heating oil and gasoline has probably outweighed the damage from lower oil prices… so far. Unfortunately, this situation may not last.

Analysts are starting to look beyond the boost to the economy from low oil prices and see the damage that is being done by worker layoffs, slowing business, and falling home prices in oil producing states. Indeed, one recent estimate suggested that up to four jobs could ultimately disappear for every one job lost in the oil sector.

There is little doubt that as oil prices fall, some [Read more…] about Should The U.S. Worry About Oil Sector Jobs?

Unemployment Down but Fewer People Working?

January 9, 2015 by Tim McMahon

On Friday January 9^th the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released the Unemployment Data for December 2014. According to the BLS the Current Unemployment Rate (Seasonally adjusted) for December was 5.6% down from 5.8% in November.

Along the same lines we see the Unadjusted Unemployment rates fall from 5.5% to 5.4% at first that seems to make sense. But if we look at the Current Employment Data we will see a different picture. According to the BLS there were 141,256,000 people employed in December and 141,321,000 employed in November that is a net loss of 65,000 jobs… some of that can be explained by the typical employment peak which ends after Black-Friday. Because employment typically peaks in November the “Seasonally Adjusted” numbers adjust for that and so it is understandable that the Seasonally adjusted unemployment rate could fall while actual employment was falling… but how can unadjusted unemployment fall with fewer people actually working? [Read more…] about Unemployment Down but Fewer People Working?

Careers High School Grads Should Consider

December 19, 2014 by Guest Contributor

After graduation, many of your friends leave for college to earn a degree. And while you might have considered college yourself, it may not be for you. Whether you’re still saving, or just don’t have the time, college may not be in the cards right away. Statistics show many different jobs don’t require a degree, and can pay higher wages. You may consider a few of these career options right after you graduate.

An Apprenticeship

Many companies and unions sponsor apprentices. In an apprenticeship, you learn a skill or trade and are paid while you learn. Skilled trades such as electricians, plumbers, linemen, and chefs start as an apprentice. Apprenticeships generally take about four years to complete and have some classroom coursework, and registration. After training is complete, many apprentices are considered journeymen and earn much higher wages. Most sponsored programs pay for all training and registration, making your education free while you’re getting paid. [Read more…] about Careers High School Grads Should Consider

The Biggest Threat to U.S. Jobs

November 10, 2014 by John Mauldin

Today’s Outside the Box comes from Sam Rines of Chilton Capital Management in Houston, TX – a promising young economics contributor to The National Interest and a rising star who I met at Worth Wray’s wedding a few weeks ago and it didn’t take much convincing from Worth to get me to share Sam’s latest article with you. Sam’s work speaks for itself and I am VERY impressed by his insights on a wide range of economic issues – from the evolution of Fed policy and growing risk of a rising US dollar, to the long-awaited industrialization of India.

In his latest piece, Sam alerts us to a breakdown in the Federal Reserve’s full-employment mandate (one leg of its dual mandate, the other being stable prices). In a normal recovery, Sam reminds us, “Wage growth and the labor market move together in a lagged fashion – the labor market heals and tightens, followed by wage increases as labor becomes increasingly scarce. But [Read more…] about The Biggest Threat to U.S. Jobs

Reconsidering Your Resume: Five Ways to Sell Yourself Better

October 14, 2014 by Tim McMahon

When you are trying to construct a good resume, you need to make sure you are using your resume to speak to your skills and attributes and sell yourself to a new employer. The five ideas below are all designed to make your resume look better, and you need to be certain your resume features as many of these ideas as possible. Don’t be afraid to stand out.

One Page
It is definitely better to limit your resume to one page long. Today’s world is simply too busy for you to send out resumes that are several pages. When you getting ready to e-mail your resume, you need to make sure they are confined to one page. Unless you are applying for a high level management position, human resources people won’t [Read more…] about Reconsidering Your Resume: Five Ways to Sell Yourself Better

Outside the Box: Employers Aren’t Just Whining: The “Skills Gap” Is Real

August 28, 2014 by Casey Research

By John Mauldin

Paul Krugman and other notables dismiss the notion of a skills gap, though employers continue to claim they’re having trouble finding workers with the skills they need. And if you look at the evidence one way, Krugman et al. are right. But this week an interesting post on the Harvard Business Review Blog Network by guest columnist James Bessen suggests that employers may not just be whining, they may really have a problem filling some kinds of jobs.

Unsurprisingly, the problem is with new technology and the seeming requirement that workers learn new skills on the job – you know, like when the student pilot has to take the helm of a 747 in a disaster movie. Perhaps there’s not quite the same pressure in the office or on the factory floor, but the challenges can be almost as complex. Most of us have had the experience of needing to learn completely new ways of doing things, sometimes over and over again as the technology for whatever we’re doing keeps changing.

The proverb about
[Read more…] about Outside the Box: Employers Aren’t Just Whining: The “Skills Gap” Is Real

Productivity Down in First Quarter 2014

June 4, 2014 by Tim McMahon

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released its revised estimate of productivity and costs for the first quarter of 2014. According to this report productivity in the “Non-farm” sector fell drastically. “The decrease in productivity was the largest since the first quarter of 2008 (-3.9 percent).”

Productivity is a measure of how much stuff is produced per hour of labor (not including farming). It is “annualized” based on “seasonally adjusted” numbers.

Due in part to the drastic drop in productivity, businesses suffered a massive increase in labor costs as they increased 5.7% on an annual basis.

Manufacturing Productivity Up

Even though Non-farm productivity was down drastically (-3.5%) the decrease was limited to the “Business” sector with “manufacturing” productivity actually up 3.8% and it’s subset durable manufacturing up 4.1%. Durable goods are things that do not wear out quickly such as household appliances, cars, consumer electronics, furniture, sports equipment, firearms, and toys.

Business sector output does not include government, non-profit institutions or private households but even so it makes up 76% of the entire Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

So although business productivity was down manufacturing productivity was actually up.

Is a Career as a Welder for You?

January 31, 2014 by Guest Contributor

Critical Skills Beginning Welders Need to Master

The welding trades provide opportunities for more than 350,000 individuals in the United States alone. As of 2012, there were 357,400 welders, cutters, solderers, and brazers in the United States, making on average $17.45 an hour or $36,300 annually. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $24,720, and the top 10 percent earned more than $56,130. The primary job of a welder is to join pieces of metal with a weld. Such individuals are employed in the manufacturing, shipbuilding, and construction industries. A person with a high school diploma (or equivalency degree) and some additional training is qualified to become a welder.

Becoming a welder requires you to master certain critical skills necessary to be successful. Some of these critical skills include having an understanding of the different types of welds, mastering amperage and filler speed, and understanding how to choose the correct filler rods.

Understanding the Different Types of Welds

There are many different types of welds for different types of welding jobs. The most common types are arc, electroslag, flux-cored, gas metal-Arc, gas tungsten-arc, metal inert gas (MIG), plasma arc, shielded-metal arc, submerged arc, and tungsten inert gas (TIG) welding. Arc welding refers to the use of an electric current that is transmitted from a welding device to a surface that is being welded. The amp of arc welding first came into existence in 1802 and is the lowest costing welding process. An electroslag is used for angles, while flux-core welding is seen as an alternative to stick welding.

Welding processes in the automotive and manufacturing industry use gas metal or gas tungsten arc welding. Plasma arc and shielded-metal arc welding are also processes that are used in manufacturing. Working with stainless steel requires a mastery of the tungsten inert gas or TIG welding process. If you really want to get exotic you can learn [Read more…] about Is a Career as a Welder for You?

5 More Dangerous Jobs

January 17, 2014 by Guest Contributor

Recently we posted Demanding Jobs: Rigorous Physical Careers and so this month we are going to follow up with 5 more dangerous jobs. ~Tim McMahon, editor

Dangerous Work: Five Jobs With the Most Risk

Workplace safety is often taken for granted, considering that the majority of jobs have virtually nonexistent injury rates. But on the other hand, it can be appalling to look at some of the hazards faced in certain other workplaces today. Although new technology is constantly improving workplace safety, several occupations in particular remain quite hazardous.

Highway Construction

Construction workers in general face numerous workplace hazards, but combine the usual risks, with vehicles speeding past just feet from the work site, and you end up with one of the highest workplace injury rates in the country. Authorities have implemented measures such as lane closures, and stiff penalties for speeding in construction zones, which have been met with mixed success at keeping highway construction workers safe. 1.6% of all car accidents happen in construction zones and more than 20,000 workers are injured in road construction work zones each year resulting in over 500 fatalities a year.

Mining

MSHAataglance — Mining Fatalities are Falling
Click for Larger Image

Tunneling into the ground to extract minerals has been [Read more…] about 5 More Dangerous Jobs